1. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country by the Applicant.
2. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to food apparatus and more particularly to impact type shell openers to aid in removal of shells from a plurality of smaller brittle shelled nuts in a single discreet operation.
3. Background and Description of Prior Art
Since the earliest times of human history nuts have provided a human food stuff, commonly of a quite desirable nature, and still are of substantial importance as a food stuff in various parts of the world. Since nuts by definition comprise the seed or fruit of a plant comprising a kernel surrounded by a more hard and usually frangible shell that does not split open at maturity and since only the kernel is edible, removal of nut shells from nut kernels has long presented a problem. Responsive to the problem many and various apparatus have been developed and become known to remove shells from nuts and those devices commonly have been generically designated as “nutcrackers”. The term “nutcracker” is used herein in this generic sense without reference to any particular method or means of opening or removing a nut shell or to any particular type of nut or nut shell to be opened as removed.
Most nutcrackers heretofore known have been designed and structured either to crack or open individual nuts in a single discreet operation such as for an individual consumer or to crack substantial numbers of nuts in a continuous process such as in a commercial nut cracking process. The instant nutcracker provides a device for cracking a quantity of nuts of up to a few pounds in a single discreet operation such as for a user desiring medial quantities of nut meats for home use or for small commercial operations while yet providing the primary beneficial features of both the individual and commercial types of nutcrackers.
One particular problem with many individual nutcrackers has been the containment and collection of shell debris resulting from the cracking operation. Normally a nut shell to be crackable must be reasonably brittle and when such a shell is cracked by either impact or leverage type nutcrackers a shell at the time of cracking tends to break into a plurality of pieces that are generally somewhat randomly dispersed about the cracking mechanism with sufficient force that they tend to be widely spread. This tends to make the nut shell debris difficult to collect for disposition. Additionally during the cracking process the nut meats commonly are somewhat broken apart and the broken nut meats tend to be randomly intersperced with the cracked shell debris to make more difficult separation of the nut meats from the shell debris and collection of the nut meats. The instant invention solves this problem by providing a cracking chamber in which the nuts being cracked are substantially contained during the cracking operation so that both the shell debris and nut meats after the cracking operation are maintained within the cracking chamber to make it easier to separate the nut meats from the shell debris and collect both for disposition.
It has heretofore been known, especially with individual nut cracking devices, to containerize a nut during the cracking process. The nutcrackers that have done this, however, generally have been of a compound complex nature which increases their cost and makes their operation more difficult and time consuming. In distinguishment, the instant invention provides a simple chamber in which a plurality of nuts are cracked by impacting while being continuously contained.
In non-commercial nutcrackers impact type cracking of nuts is generally faster and more efficient than leverage type compression cracking, but in general with either type of such prior nutcrackers there has not been mechanical control limiting the cracking force of either an impact or a compressive nature. The only control available has been by possible manual manipulation of the cracking tool by the operator which has not been effective or efficient. The instant nutcracker causes cracking by use of an impact type force, but while so doing mechanically limits the distance through which that force may be applied to the shells of nuts to be cracked. This mechanical limitation not only tends to maintain the cracked nutshells in larger pieces but also tends to maintain nut meats within the cracked shells in larger more desirable pieces so that both components may be more easily separated after the cracking process than they could be with previously known impact type cracking process.
To accomplish mechanical limitation of the distance through which a cracking force operates on a group of nut shells, I provide a plurality of spacers carried in a cracking box and defining a similarly configured and positioned medial cracking chambers so that a plurality of such frames may be stacked upon each other to define a cracking chamber of adjustably variable height. The nuts to be cracked and carried within the cracking chamber are impacted by a striker plate of greater areal size than the cracking chamber so that the cracking plate may not pass within the cracking chamber.
My invention lies not in any one or combination of the foregoing features but rather in the synergistic combination of all of its structures which necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as hereinafter claimed.